The IW Steam Railway has launched an urgent £36,000 fundraising appeal to return its flagship steam locomotive Calbourne to service. ‘Calbourne’ was the first engine acquired by the embryonic Steam Railway in 1967 and the last surviving O2 Class locomotive. In 1971 she hauled the railway’s historic carriages from Newport to Havenstreet, in the nick of time before the trackbed was lifted and later that year she provided the first passenger trains at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The railway’s flagship locomotive ‘Calbourne’ is always popular with visitors and enthusiasts. Originally constructed in 1891 and operated constantly since, Calbourne’s steel tyres have worn to the extent that they now need replacing. This is a very specialist task that will be carried out by a specialist engineering team in Devon. Fitting heavy, new steel tyres to a steam locomotive is a lengthy and complex process. Starting from the source, it takes months to obtain the top-quality steel from South Africa and ship to the UK. Unlike a quick car tyre change at a local garage, each of Calbourne’s 4ft, 10 inch-diameter tyres will take virtually a full day to complete, utilising heavy-duty and traditional engineering machinery. In the re-tyring process, engineers use a gas-powered hearth to heat the machined steel tyre until it expands enough for the wheel centre to be carefully lowered into the middle. After cooling, the steel tyre shrinks tightly around the wheel centre, and is then further secured using rivets or rings. Chairman Peter Taylor has said:
“We are urgently appealing for £36,000 to fund this project, ensuring our flagship locomotive, Calbourne, can return to service as soon as possible. Calbourne is our flagship locomotive that started the current railway. We’re keen to get her back into service pleasing our 130,000 visitors as quickly as we can.”
The IW Steam Railway is looking for £36,000 to complete the project. Donations can be made by the following means:
- By phone: with a credit or debit card payment on 01983 882204
- Online: iwsteamrailway.co.uk/get-involved/make-a-donation
- By cheque: Please make cheques payable to Isle of Wight Railway Co. Ltd. and send to Isle of Wight Steam Railway, The Railway Station, Havenstreet, Ryde, IW PO33 4DS
Fundraiser, are you having a laugh, where does all the extortionate
ENTRANCE fee money go!.
sat in their accounts – last accounts show just over £5 million in unrestricted funds held.
I think you need to go on an accountancy course, then you may be able to understand the accounts better.
perhaps you should go to companies house and read it in black and white
Yes I have been to companies house but you are not reading the accounts correctly, there is not £5 million in the bank
It goes towards everything from maintaining the track itself, to procuring the food served in the canteen, couple that with that fact they’re closed between December and March for long term maintenance on rolling stock, and locomotives, while still paying taxes, and subsequently loose out on income at that time, considering all this the money is spent responsibly. What? Did you think the station’s just clean themselves up? Or that the tyres on a steam locomotive don’t wear out? Or that replacements can be procured by taking the train to a quick fit?
Asking for help to maintain a key piece of isle history is not a crime, and requires no financial commitment from you personally, I’d say your uninformed over reaction says a lot about you.
Just as they saw funding awarded to dinosaur isle and 2 libraries.
For a charity paying out over 750k a year in wages and as jess said over 5 million sat in the bank I think it’s time for the IWSR to stop poncing off their ‘charity’ status and put some money into their trains.
Must be run by a dodgy handshaker
Scandalous wanting help
What does that mean dodgy handshaker?
Someone with Parkinson’s.
A mason dear.
Actually i am well aware what a freemason is, I actually know several,
I just not sure a dodgy handshake or a Mason is and quite frankly you have absolutely no idea what Freemasonry is about. So be a Good boy and shut up.
The box jellyfish has no brains and 4 eyes, and yet despite that its still a more capable of being intelligent than what you just managed to write.
I see this place is not doing it’s bid to save the Planet
Whenever you’re ready to glue yourselves to a run way to stop
Billionaires from flying in private jets that blast out more Co2 in 4 hours than one steam loco does in a whole day, I’m still not taking you so called “climate activists” seriously. So you can just run along and let the rest of enjoy a piece of living history, thank you very much.
If you don’t feel sympathetic towards this appeal, then the answer is pretty simple – don’t contribute.
Personally speaking, I will.
Is all this bile and invective really necessary?
Get a life.
It’s disturbing and disappointing just how willing some people are to give out their nasty views with no research behind them. I’m glad there’s at least one sensible chap in the comments though.